Brown Fencers Win Nine Medals at Big One

Nov 07, 2006

Nov. 7, 2006

Northampton, MA -
Nine Bears took home medals on Saturday, as the Brown fencing team opened its 2006-2007 campaign at the "Big One" tournament, held this year at Smith College. The team was led by freshman Randy Alevi (Old Westbury, NY), who won the gold in the women's saber competition. Sophomore Nick Bender (New York, NY) had the top finish for the men, taking the bronze in men's foil. The tournament served as a great gauge for the Bears, as they were among 366 competitors from 17 schools.

Alevi's and Bender's squads each had great days as a whole. The three members of the women's saber squad all placed sixth or higher. Alevi, senior Olivia Partyka (Charlton, NY), and sophomore Charlotte Rose (Bethesda, MD) all went undefeated in the preliminary rounds. Rose was defeated by Alevi in the quarterfinals, placing her sixth, while Partyka finished fifth. Similarly, Bender and senior Jeremy Zeitlin (Piedmont, CA) went undefeated in the prelims, while sophomore Toby Cohen (New York, NY) and freshman Andreas Varotsis (London, United Kingdom) had one and two losses, respectively. Bender, Zeitlin, and Varotsis all made it to the quarterfinals, when Bender eliminated Zeitlin, the squad captain. Zeitlin took fifth place, while Vartosis captured seventh.

Five other Bears posted top ten finishes. Junior Samuel Levine (Santa Monica, CA) and senior Dan Mahoney (Haydenville, MA) of the men's saber squad finished in fifth and 10th, respectively. Epeeist John Sheehy (Dorchester, MA) finished in sixth, while fellow squad member Adam Yarnell (Harrison, NY), who was undefeated in the preliminary rounds, placed 18th after falling to Sheehy early in the elimination rounds. For the women, sophomore Christina Salvatore (Chevy Chase, MD) finished seventh in the women's epee and freshman Kirsten Lynch (Maplewood, NJ) took ninth in the women's foil.

Brown's next event will be on Nov. 19, as the team travels to MIT for the first of its two Northeast Fencing Conference meets. Last season, the women's squad went 10-0 in the conference, while the men were 6-2.